The DMD Top 5 for the Week Ending Feb. 24

1. 10 States with the Best Dental Health: A new ranking from WalletHub determines which the overall level of oral health in each state, using 23 indicators. The number-crunching gurus looked at the share of adolescents who visited a dentist in the past year, the share of adults who visited a dentist in the past year, and the cost of dental treatments, among other factors. WalletHub collected data to make these determinations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Dental Association.

2. Handy Hotel and Travel Apps: Put the latest apps to work for you on your next vacation. GeoSure uses crowd-sourced data to determine whether a location is safe. Localeur will help you find restaurants and activities favored by locals. And Google Translate will help you break down any language barriers you may encounter.

3. The DMD Check-Up: Dental Therapy Controversies, Taking a Bite out of Crime: Massachusetts and Kansas are considering legislation that would permit dental therapists to work in each state. This news comes on the heels of a similar debate in Arizona. On a lighter note, a robbery suspect in Minnesota left behind a key piece of evidence: a full impression of his teeth.

4. Marketing to Millennials Requires a Different Strategy: Attracting millennials to your dental practice requires a tech-centric marketing strategy. Naren Arulrajah, founder and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, says that this generation wants instant information, delivered on their terms. Social media, email and text-based marketing are all critical components of a strategy that will reach this group, Arulrajah says.

5. Hinman Dental Meeting: What You Need To Know This Year: The Hinman Dental Meeting returns to Atlanta, Georgia, this year at the World Congress Center. The annual meeting, hosted by the Hinman Dental Society, will feature about 22,000 dental professionals from across the U.S. The theme of this year’s meeting is “The Changing Face of Dentistry.” It will feature more than 245 continuing education courses. The very first Hinman Dental Meeting took place in 1912.